Optical communications continue to expand in ubiquity and reliability. However, as is the case with many communication techniques, it is often typical that a specific receiver must be employed for communication with any particular transmitter. As such, while the communication medium itself (i.e., fiber optic cables) can support any of a wide range of signal characteristics such as data rates, modulation formats and/or the like, the receiver to be employed for processing a signal having particular signal characteristics must often be matched to the corresponding transmitter that generates the signal. This matching ensures that the receiver can demodulate or otherwise handle the signal that the transmitter is generating.
The above described common requirement for matching transmitters and receivers often means that any time one of these pieces of equipment is upgraded or replaced, the corresponding other piece of equipment must also be upgraded or replaced. Moreover, the same manufacturer may need to be used when buying a transmitter for a particular receiver, or vice versa. However, even where different manufacturers or brands can be used together, consideration of the interoperability of network communication equipment must always be considered. Otherwise, a conventional receiver that is paired with a transmitter employing a particular modulation technique may not be able to demodulate the signals generated by the transmitter